Kevin Thelwell could be one year away from overseeing huge Everton squad change
Nine of Everton's current first-team squad will be out of contract next summer
Everton’s late summer business saw the club earn significant money from two players who had entered the final year of their contracts.
Alex Iwobi left for Fulham in a package valued at around £22m. The winger had been in contract negotiations with Everton since September of last year but no deal had been concluded.
Demarai Gray then left for Saudi Arabia Pro League outfit Al-Ettifaq in a deal worth around £8m. The Blues had the option to extend Gray's deal but the acrimonious final days of his Goodison Park career hastened his departure.
Both sales represent good money for players approaching the end of their contracts, but also leave a small squad with even fewer options. And that could be even smaller next summer should those now in their final year leave.
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Nine players within the current first-team squad are due to leave at the end of this season. Club captain Seamus Coleman, veteran goalkeeper Andy Lonergan and central midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure - who scored the goal that saved Everton from relegation last season and then the club’s first Premier League strike of this campaign - each signed 12 month extensions earlier this year.
Idrissa Gueye’s two-year deal after his move from Paris Saint Germain is also due to come to an end, as are the terms of fellow central midfielders Andre Gomes and Dele. Ashley Young, a free signing this summer, is on a one-year contract while loanees Jack Harrison and Arnaut Danjuma would return to their parent clubs as it stands.
Should all nine leave, Everton would be left with 17 of the club’s current squad. The return of Neal Maupay and Mason Holgate from their loans would take that to 19 - though Brentford have an option to buy Maupay.
The signs point to director of football Kevin Thelwell having to prepare for a significant rebuild next summer. Should the Blues be able to confirm top-flight safety early enough to have a head start in preparing for the following campaign, this could be a blessing.
As well as important dressing room figures, the summer of 2024 is due to see a swathe of players signed on big wages leave the club and, with the salary savings made by the departures this summer, this could create an opportunity to unpick some of the squad issues Sean Dyche and Thelwell inherited